Allah is preparing us for victory - Anwar al Awlaki

Hah is Preparing us for

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Transcribed by Amatu

Edited by Mujahid fe Sabeelillah

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

This piece is dedicated to al-Muslimeen fe kulli makaan that are searching for the light

of Allah upon the horizons of darkness and Kufr. Rejoice O Muwaahidl Know that the

victory of Allah is coming if only you could see!

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They want to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths, but Allah will not
allow it except that His Light should be perfected even though the Kafiroon

hate it!

(at-Taubah: 32)

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

Table of Contents Page

About the Shaykh 4

Editors Note 5

I. If Allah wants an end He will create for it its means 6

II. The Return of Khilafah & do not complain about our times 9

° First Reason 10

* Second Reason 10

III. Victory is very soon 13

9 First Example 13

* Second Example 15

* Third Example 16

IV. History repeats itself 20

* First Point 21

* Second Point 23

V. Realizing the severity of this fit an 26

* First Indication 26
° Second Indication 27
9 Third Indication 27
» Fourth Indication 28

VI. The solution to the Ummah's problem 30

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

About the Shaykh

Imam Anwar al-Awlaki is a Muslim scholar who was born in New Mexico.
His parents are from Yemen, where he lived for eleven years and received the
early part of his Islamic education.

Imam Anwar al-Awlaki served as an Imam in Colorado, California, and later
in the Washington, D.C. area where he headed the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic
Center and was also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University.
He used to go back and forth from America to Yemen, where he was studying
Shari'ah with prominent scholars, and he was later banned from re-entering
the United States despite being a U.S. citizen. He holds a B.S. in Civil
Engineering from Colorado State University, a M. A. in Education Leadership
from San Diego State University and was working on a Doctorate degree in
Human Resource Development at George Washington University. He
authored many popular audio series including the "Lives of the
Prophets", "The Hereafter", "The Life of Muhammad", "The life and times of
'Umar ibn al-Khattab", "The life and times of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq", "The Story
of Ibn al-Akwa", "Constants on the Path of Jihad", and more.

He was arrested in Sana' a, Yemen by the Kuffar and Murtadeen. The case of his
arrest are not clear but many say it might have to do with some connections
that he had with the September 11 th hijackers. Wallahu 'Alam. He is also
amongst the great Scholars that preach Jihad fe Sabeelillah as afard al 'ayn on
the whole of the Ummah in the lands of Jihad. Some are now saying that the
Imam has been released from prison; this is the word on the streets of Yemen.

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

If this is the case, may Allah have him become a hefty rock in the throats of
the 'Adaa of Allah! Ameen.

Editors Note

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We Praise and Thank
Allah for allowing us to spread His Deen in the way He intended for us. I bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship - both below and above the
heavens - except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhe
wassallam) is His Last Messenger who was sent as a mercy to all of humanity
and a divider between Truth and Falsehood. I also bear witness that all of the
Tawagheet are the enemies of Allah and that my hatred and Baraa is to them
and that my love and Walaa is to Allah, His Messenger, and the Mu'mineen.

Alhamdullilah, Thumma Alhamdullilah, we have completed our second series of
transcribed lectures into book format. It is only from the will of Allah that He
allowed us to do such a beneficial deed. There truly is none to acknowledge
more than Allah as He is al-Khaaliq and the fashioner of the Heavens and the
Earth and He knows all that is in it and outside of it!

This book is extremely close to a word-by-word transcription of Imam Anwar
al-Awlaki's lecture. I have chosen to take out or add a few words - and not
more than that - to smoothen the flow for the reader. I've also added many
footnotes along the way to explain words, sentences, backgrounds, and
adding daleel to what the speaker is saying. As you know and will find out in
greater detail that this subject is one of extreme importance; so the footnotes, I
felt, were absolutely necessary to further expand on the words of the speaker.

Please make du'a for us that Allah accepts our efforts for spreading this Noble
Deen of His.

Jazakullah Khair,
Mujahid fe Sabeelillah

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

Allah is preparing us for victory

Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki (fakkAllahu Asra)

Transcribed by Amatullah
Edited by Mujahid fe Sabeelillah

I. If Allah wants an end He will create for it its means

This title is taken from the book on history Al-Kaamil by Imam Ibn Atheer
(rahimahullah). If Allah Azza wa Jail wants an end He will create for it the
means that will lead towards that end. If Allah Azza zva Jail wants victory for
this Ummah, then Allah Azza wa Jail creates the circumstances for that. So you
can sense victory is coming by looking at what is happening today.

If we establish that this rule is correct, then we would be able to prove
whether the end is on its way or not. In general, for the issue of victory, Allah
Azza wa Jail has promised in Qur'an and Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe
wassallam) has promised in the ahadith that eventually this Ummah will be
victorious and this should be an issue of Yaqeen 1 for all of us. When we say
Yaqeen, here it's something like an ' Aqeeda for us; as a Muslim you need to
believe that this Ummah will be victorious, and if you don't believe that then
there is a problem in your Iman. Why? Because the daleel 2 is so strong to
establish this point. Some of the evidences are as follows:

Allah Azza wa Jail says,

, — -* Cw -°

"And We have already written in the book (of Psalms, the scriptures) after
the (previous) mention (Torah) that the land is inherited by My righteous
servants." (al-Anbiyaa': 105)

Certainty.
Proof.

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

So eventually the righteous servants of Allah 'Azza wa Jail will inherit the
land.

Allah 'Azza wa Jail says,

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"And Our word [i.e., decree] has already preceded for Our servants, the
messengers. [That] indeed, they would be those given victory. And [that]
indeed, Our soldiers will be those who overcome." (As-Saaffaat: 171-173)

So Allah promised the Anbiya, al-Mursaleen that He will give them victory.
Allah 'Azza wa Jail says,

The earth belongs to Allah and He will inherit it to whomever He wills of
His servants but eventually the earth will be inherited by the Muttaqeen
(pious). (al-'Araaf. 128)

So Allah could give it to the Kafir or the believer but Allah ends the verse
saying the believers will inherit earth:

They want to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths, but Allah will not
allow except that His Light should be perfected even though the Kafiroon
(disbelievers) hate it. (at-Taubah: 32)

Now what the disbelievers are trying to do is extinguish the light of Allah
'Azza wa Jail; the light of Allah 'Azza wa Jail is Islam; the Risaalah 3 of
Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam). They are trying to stop the flow of
Islam and Allah 'Azza wa Jail says they will fail. When we look at the amount
of money they are spending on fighting Islam it is amazing; and you think
about how much Allah 'Azza wa Jail has given them (i.e., the Kafireen), and
how many resources are under their hands; and they spend all of this to fight
Islam! Sometimes we complain that they control the media, that they control
every powerful newspaper in the world, that they control every powerful
radio station in the world, that they control every powerful media outlet on
the planet, that they control the governments and police forces; they control
the entire planet. They have all this money and we have no chance in fighting
them so lets just give up and try to use alternative means of dealing with

Message.

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

them; lets not collide face-to-face with them as there is no way we could be
equal to them! Let's try to use politics, and diplomatic means in trying to fight
them. But Allah 'Azza zva Jail says,

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They will spend it, then it will become anguish for them, then they will be
defeated. (al-Anfaal: 36)

So let them spend their money as that's how they will be defeated as Allah
'Azza zva Jail says they need to spend their money first and then they will be
defeated. So we should be happy that they are spending their money to fight
Islam as that means that victory for Islam is soon; victory is on its way.

Now they are already talking how this war in Afghanistan and 'Iraq is going
to cost them more than the Vietnam War and the Korean War. The Korean
War cost about $200 billion dollars and the Vietnam war cost them $400
billion dollars and this war in 'Iraq has probably cost them $800 billion dollars
or more; the way its going, the economy will bleed to death, and this is
exactly following the ayah; so they will spend the money and they are going to
regret it because they invited this trouble as this war in 'Iraq and Afghanistan
was not forced on to them, rather they chose this battle, so they will regret
putting themselves into this trouble: spending all of this money, going broke
and then being defeated.

Just like Abu Jahl chose to meet the Muslims in Badr because the Muslims
went out to Badr to pursue the caravans, the caravan was safe. Abu Sufyan
sent a letter to Abu Jahl - who was now the head of the army - telling him to
go back to Makkah as the caravan is safe and that he was able to evade the
Muslims. But Abu Jahl said, "No, we are going to go and fight them! We are
going to go to Badr and we are going to party there for three days and we are
going to drink wine and women are going to sing for us and we want all the
'Arabs to hear about our expedition and to know that Quraysh cannot be
humiliated." So they'll party there for three days and this news would spread
all over Arabia telling people not to mess with Quraysh again.

So Abu Jahl chose to go for battle and this same thing is happening now to
America; they have chosen this battle and the end result of it is already
known because Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said in a Hadith Qudsi
that Allah 'Azza wa Jail said,

"Whoever takes My Awliya (helpers) as enemies, I will wage war against
them." (Hadith Qudsi 25: al-Bukhari)

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

So it's not the Muslims who are waging war against them, its Allah Azza wa
JalV. America is in a state of war with Allah 'Azza wa JaW.

Allah 'Azza wa Jail says,
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Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous
deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of
power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in
authority their Deen - the one which He has chosen for them; and that He
will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of
security and peace: They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught
with Me. 'If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked.
(an-Noor: 55)

Khilafah will be given to those who have Iman and practice 'Amalus Saalehaat 4 .
Muslims are now in a state of fear. Allah 'Azza wa Jail is promising us here
that He will give us security. Allah 'Azza wa Jail has promised this Ummah:
Khilafah. And He has promised this Ummah: Amn 5 ; and that His Deen will be
established.

II. The Return of Khilafah & do not complain about our times

In the hadith that you must be aware of because it talks about the stages of
our history, Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said, "The Prophethood
will last among you for as long as Allah wills, then Allah would take it
away. Then it will be (followed by) a Khilafah Rashida (rightly guided)
according to the ways of the Prophethood. It will remain for as long as Allah
wills, then Allah would take it away. Afterwards there will be a hereditary
leadership which will remain for as long as Allah wills, then He will lift it if
He wishes. Afterwards, there will be biting oppression, and it will last for as
long as Allah wishes, then He will lift it if He wishes. Then there will be a
Khilafah Rashida according to the ways of the Prophethood," then he kept
silent. (Musnad Imam Ahmad (v/273); Reported by Nou'man ibn Basheer
(radiyallahu 'anhu))

Righteous Deeds.
Security

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

Prophethood which is the beginning of the hadith ended with the death of
Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam). The next stage is Khilafah Rashida
and this is from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq to ' Ali ibn Abi Taalib (radiyallahu 'anhum).
Then he said it will be Mulkan 6 which is the Banu Umayyah, Banu 'Abbas and
al-Khilafah 'Uthmaniyyah. Then after that, he said it will be dictatorship, which
we are living under today; it is oppressive rule. Then after that it will be
Khilafah Rashida. 7

Sometimes we complain about our times, that we are living in the worst times
- the Ummah is weak, the Ummah is defeated and disunited, we wish we were
living in the time of the Sahabah (radiyallahu 'anhum) or times of the heroic
Islamic eras.

The following are reasons why we should not complain about our times:

First Reason: One of the Tabi'een 8 said to one of the Sahabah: "How did you
treat Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) when he was among you?" So a
Sahabi talked about how they used to treat the Prophet and that they did their
best. The Tabi' 9 responded by saying, "If the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe
wassallam) was living in our time we would have carried him on our
shoulders." What the Tabi' was trying to say is that the Sahabah did not treat
him good enough and if he was living with them, they would have treated
him better than the Sahaba. The Sahabi replied, "A person does not know what
they would have done had they lived in that time; we were fighting our
fathers and brothers and it was not an easy thing. Now your fathers and
brothers and family are Muslims; you imagine you are going to treat
Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) in a certain way. So do not ask or wish
for something Allah did not destine for you." 10

Second Reason: We shouldn't complain about our time; instead we should be
grateful to Allah ' Azza wa Jail that we are living in these days. Why? If you
look at the status of the Sahabah, it is the highest status among the Muslim
Ummah; they are the highest, the best and the greatest. And then the Tabi'een
and then those who came after them 11 . How come the Sahabah were the best?
Some of the reasons include that the Sahaba built Islam from scratch; the
Sahabah came and there was nothing so they established the foundation of the
Deen whereas anyone else who came after them, the building was already
there and they came and added pieces to that foundation here and there; and

Kingdom.

After Khilafah Rashida, there is nothing else to come; this will be the end of the world and the indication
of this in the hadith is when Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) fell silent after mentioning all this.
Generation after the Sahaba.
Singular for Tabi'een.

Imam Anwar was paraphrasing the saying of this Sahabi.
Taba Tabi'een.

10

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

if there were any broken pieces, like bid' ah 12 , they would fix it. But the
foundation was already laid down by the Sahaba. And this is what made them
the best generation because their job was the most difficult job. It is important
for us to realise what is the demand of our times so that we fulfil it because
the things that at-Tabi'een emphasized on for example may be different from
the things that the Taba Tabi'een emphasized on.

To make this point clear: if Al-Bukhari (rahimahullah) came one hundred years
later and did the same thing, he would not have the same status that he has
among us now. If Imam ash-Shafi'i (rahimahullah) came one hundred years
later and did the same thing, he would not have the same status that he has
among us now. Why? Because the needs were different from time-to-time.

You will notice that the four Imam's of Fiqh lived in same Century, and the six
Imam's of hadith also lived within that same Century 13 . This tells you that the
need at one time was Fiqh and the need in another time was hadith. I am
saying this because if we want to serve Islam the best now, we need to
understand what is needed now.

We find that some brothers would go and emphasize on Da'wah while some
brothers will go and emphasise on 'Urn. We do need to emphasise on these
areas and every area, but if we were to ask ourselves the question of what is
needed the most in our time today, we would find that it is quite similar to
the time of the Sahabah because now we have reached to the lowest level that
we have reached in Fourteen Centuries.

So our time that we are complaining about, among all the other generations
after the Sahaba, although our time is not exactly the same it is the most
similar to the time of the Sahaba. Why? Because when the Sahabah came there
was no Islamic authority and there is no Islamic authority today and this was
not the case for fourteen hundred years. When the Sahabah came, they fought
entire surroundings including the two super powers - the Persian Empire and
the Roman Empire - and all the 'Arabs around them that were against them.
And this is similar to our situation today and this wasn't the case in our
history before. In our history before you would find Islamic authority, you
would find people to assist you in Al-Haqq, and there was a place to make
Hijrah to. Now we find that the whole world is waging a war against us and
this is similar to time of the Sahabah, which means the ajr of the people today
could be very great. We are not saying it is equal to the ajr of the Sahabah but it
is going to be very great. This is why Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam)
has mentioned in a hadith that even though the best generation is of the

Innovation in the Deen.

For the Imam's of Hadith, they came more towards the end of the Century.

11

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

Sahabah, then the Tabi'een, then the Taba Tabi'een, there will be a generation of
people at the end of time and the ajr of one of them will be equal to the ajr of
fifty! So the Sahabah asked, "Fifty of us or fifty of them?" Rasoolullah (sallallahu
'alayhe wassallam) said, "Fifty of you."

So the Salah will be like the Salah of fifty Sahabah. You fast one day and it will
be like the fasting of fifty Sahabah. The ajr is multiplied by fifty, why? Because
of the difficulty of that time.

We notice that Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said that towards the
end of time that there will be people who will be amongst the greatest of this
Ummah. Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said in hadith that 'Out of
'Aden-Abyan u will come out twelve thousand; they will give victory to the
Deen of Allah and they will be the best between me and them.'

They are the best between Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) and their
time. So we can wrap all of these Centuries, and they will be the best. The
reason is because their time will be most similar to the time of the Sahaba.

So why complain if you are living in the time of the new gold rush; not a gold
rush for gold but a gold rush for Hasanaat 15 ? There are some times when the
economy is booming so fast and everybody becomes rich and then there are
times when things are stagnating and slow so these people wish they were
living in the time when economy was booming so they could become a
millionaire like those before. We are living in a time of a boom now; but we
just need to realize it and realize the amount of ajr that is out there waiting for
us if we just go and do something. The ajr is so great that it's waiting for
someone to come and do something about it. If it comes at a time when things
are easy then the ajr is reduced. But if the time is one of difficulty, then the ajr
is increased.

Ajr is in accordance to the difficulty. So why complain about a time when
really, it is the best time?

If we are talking about the time when victory is around the corner, Wallahu
'Alam if we are experiencing the knowledge of the Ghayb 16 when Rasoolullah
(sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said they (i.e., the Victorious Group) will be the
ones to give victory to the Mahdi, to 'Esa ibn Maryam ('alayhis salaam); if we
are close to that time, the ajr is astronomical, and we do not want to be
waiting on the sideline when all of this is happening; people are making

This place is located in South Yemen. Today there is an active and popular Jihadi movement there in
that locality.
Rewards.
Unseen.

12

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

millions while you are sitting at home doing nothing. So we shouldn't
complain about our time.

Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said, "Indeed Allah gathered up the
earth for me so that I saw its eastern and western parts, and indeed the
dominion of my Ummah will reach what was gathered up for me from it.

(Saheeh Muslim #2889 collected that Thawbaan (radiyallahu 'anhu)) 17

So this religion will reach to every continent, to every country, and to every
city. The banner of La ilaaha illAllah will enter into every city. This religion will
reach wherever night and day reaches; is there a place where night and day
doesn't reach? So you O Kafir, O Munaafiq, if you want to hide away from this
religion you will need to go to mars or somewhere else! There will be no place
for you on dunyal So we must all agree that victory is on its way, but the
question is when?

III. Victory is very soon

Let's make a claim and then use this to see if it's true or not. The claim is:
victory is very soon. Now let's try to prove this.

I am going to use the principal:

If Allah wants an end He creates for it its means.

First of all is this rule correct or not? Let's look at history: does Allah 'Azza wa
fall really prepare the ground for events and bring circumstances to fulfil an
end? We will look at a few examples to prove this.

First Example: There is a hadith in Bukhari from A'isha (radiyallahu 'anha):
Rasoolullah was making Da'wah in Makkah for thirteen years and he reached
to a dead end and now Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) was trying to
find an alternative. He went to at-Taif but they turned him down. Every year
in the time of ha]], he would present himself to the tribes and ask them for a
specific thing - 'Give me support so that I may convey the message from my
Lord,' but they were turning him down.

The full hadith is as follows: "Indeed Allah gathered up the earth for me so that I saw its eastern and
western parts, and indeed the dominion of my Ummah will reach what was gathered up for me from it.
And I have been granted the two treasures of gold and silver. And indeed I asked my Lord for my
Ummah that it should not be totally destroyed by a prevailing famine, nor to allow on enemy to
totally conquer it, except from amongst themselves. So my Lord said: O Muhammad! When I decree a
matter, then it is not reversed. I grant to you for your Ummah that it would not be totally destroyed by
a prevailing famine, nor will it be totally conquered by on external enemy, even if all the notions were
to rally against it however, a group from your Ummah will destroy one another and imprison one
another."

13

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

Allah wanted this ajr to go to someone else: Al-Aws wal Khazraj. How did this
happen? Al-Aws wal Khazraj were locked to this feudal war that was endless.
They would wake up every day and fight each other; that was their life. After
a while, it eventually wears you down. Yes, you can be a great warrior and
one who sacrifices everything, but when is it going to end and for what? So
this war was going beyond what they were able to withstand. Then there was
this day of Bu'ath. A'isha (radiyallahu 'anha) said regarding it, "The day of
Bu'ath was a day Allah ' Azza wa Jail had given as a gift for Muhammad
(sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam)." Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) had
nothing to do with Bu'ath as it was in Madinah and he had nothing to do with
Madinah at that time; so what was this day of Bu'ath? It was a day when the
two tribes fought and the leadership of both tribes were massacred that day.
So when the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) went to them, their Mala ls
was gone and the heads of the people were killed and they were injured.

In your reading of Qur'an, if you've ever noticed that the people who stand
against the Ambiya 19 are a certain class of people. The ones who stand against
the Ambiya are who? They are a class of people in Qur'an given title of Mala.
Who are al-Mala? They are the leadership; it could be the political,
economical, media, social leadership. It is these people who stand against the
Ambiya. Why? Because they are ones who feel they will lose at any change to
the status quo. These leaders are the ones who are benefiting from the status
quo and they don't want any change to it so they resist the da'wah of the
Ambiya as they know that the Ambiya are coming to strip them from their
power and give it to the book of Allah. So now you all become equal and the
Khalifah among you is only appointed to establish the rule of Allah and not
the rules of his own personal interests. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and 'Umar ibn al-
Khattab (radiyallahu 'anhum) were not there for their own benefit, rather they
were there to establish the book of Allah. And that is why he is called Mas'ool
which means a person who will be asked on Yaum Al Qiyama. The position of
responsibility puts you in a place where you will be questioned by Allah
'Azza wa Jail on the Day of Judgement. So it is a place no one wants to be in;
the Khulafa' had to be forced in to that position. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
(radiyallahu 'anhu) wanted to give baiy'ah to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyallahu
'anhu). 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyallahu 'anhu) was handed the Khilafah by
Abu Bakr (radiyallahu 'anhu) through force. And then the people were telling
'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (radiyallahu 'anhu) to take it and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab
(radiyallahu 'anhu), his father, said, "I don't want to have two of my family
members to be held in this position on the Day of Judgment."

Leadership.
Prophets.

14

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

So al-Mala are the ones who stand against Islam; they are people like Fir' awn,
Qaroon, Abu Jahl, and Abu Lahab. They are people benefiting from the
money, position, fame, and respect attained through being al-Mala. But they
are the ones who stand to loose because in reality even though people think
they are free, they are not free. If you are living under a man-made system
you are not free.

That is why when Rabi'a ibn 'Amir (radiyallahu 'arihu) went to the leader of
the Persians. The leader asked him, "Why are you coming to our lands? If you
are coming for money then we will pay every one of you a salary so leave us
alone." But Rabi'a said, "That is not why we are here. We are sent to free the
creation from being slaves of one another to being slaves of Allah the Creator
of the creation and from the oppression of religion to the justice of Islam and
we want to deliver people from the narrowness of this world to the vastness
of this world and the Afterlife."

Rabi'a ibn 'Amir (radiyallahu 'anhu) was not a student of religion nevertheless
he is saying that all religions are Dhulm 20 . He didn't need to learn about
religion because he knows from Wahi 21 that every religion is an oppressive
religion and the only religion that will offer you justice is Islam.

Yaum al-Bu'ath was a preparation as the leadership was gone. That is why
when the men from al-Ansaar went to Hajj and they heard about Muhammad
(sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) what did they say? They said, 'Let's take this man
to our land and may Allah unite us through him.' They were lost; they lost
their leadership. SubhanAllah humanity without leadership cannot survive;
humanity needs leadership in good and in evil. That is why the camp of Ar-
Rahman has a leadership and the camp of Ash-Shaytaan has a leadership. That
is our nature; we have to have somebody to show us the way.

Also another form of preparation was that they were neighbours of the Jews,
so they knew that there was a Prophet coming unlike the rest of the 'Arabs
who did not know anything about Prophethood. The Ansaar would hear the
Jews tell them, 'A Prophet will be sent among us and then we will kill you
like 'Ad was killed.' So the Jews were threatening the Ansaar that when a
Prophet comes they will wipe them out but it was the other way round. Is this
not preparation for an end? Allah ' Azza wa Jail wanted Ansaar to become
Muslims and he wanted them to give support to the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe
wassallam).

So history was preparing them. The Ansaar were fighting in Bu'ath having no

Injustice.
Revelation.

15

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

clue that this day would be the day that was bringing them close to Islam. It
was a war in Jahiliyyah 22 but it was bringing them close to Allah ' Azza wa Jail.

Second Example: Another example is when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyallahu
'anhu) sent an army to fight against the Persian Empire. The leader of the
Muslim army, Abu 'Ubayda ath-Thaqafee (radiyallahu 'anhu), was very
courageous however he had taken more risks than he should have and that
led to a defeat for the Muslims in the battle of al-Jisr. Half of the entire Muslim
army in Persia was killed on that day. So now it's the golden opportunity for
the Persian Empire to take out the rest of the Muslims; they thought the tide
was turning in their favour. They thought that now they could kick out the
Muslims who will loose all of the ground they have conquered so far.
Mahmoud Shaakir, the author of At-Tareekh Al-Islami, said, "But Allah is with
the believers." If the believers fulfil the requirements of victory, they are
going to get victory one way or another regardless of whether they have big
numbers or not, whether they have the nuclear bomb or not, these are not the
issues that matter. As long as you fulfil the requirements of Iman then Allah
'Azza wa Jail will give you victory since Allah 'Azza wa Jail says,

Allah is the Protector of the believers. (al-Hajj: 38)

Allah 'Azza wa Jail is not the protector of the ones who have a lot of weapons,
or who have a lot of numbers; rather it is the ones who have Iman. That is the
condition that is needed. So although it looked like the Muslims were going to
lose, but SubhanAllah, Allah 'Azza wa Jail created the means towards the end.
So whenever the Muslims get into trouble, Allah 'Azza wa Jail is the one who
delivers them out of it. What happened was that in the Persian Capital, the
two main leaders starting fighting with each other; half of the army broke
with Rustum and the other half with another leader.

So the general who was appointed to fight the Muslims was recalled back to
the capital to resolve this dispute. So the Muslims who were in danger of
being wiped out permanently are now alone sitting there and this gave the
Khalifah enough time to send in reinforcements and to carry on the fight. So
this dispute happened at the exact moment that was needed because Allah
'Azza wa Jail wanted this land to be opened. So even though it seemed the tide
was turning against the Muslims, Allah 'Azza wa Jail gave them victory.

Third Example: A third example was from the Crusades. Salahuddin Ayyubi
(rahimahullah) started out by uniting the Muslims around the Holy Land and

22 T

Ignorance.

16

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

he decided to do what many of the Ameer's 23 before him were too afraid to do
and that was to start a war with the Crusaders. The Crusaders had occupied
the entire coastal land along with Jerusalem and some important areas and al-
Shaam 2i . So Salahuddin (rahimahullah) instigated this fight and the Crusaders
took him seriously as they knew this was not a simple leader. The Muslim
leaders were telling Salahuddin (rahimahullah) that he is crazy to start a fight
with ar-Room. 25 They said ' Ar-Room is a sea without any shore.' - meaning, as
far as you can see that is ar-Room. In other words they were saying that ar-
Room is going to send us a flood because Europe is united and whose
population is huge and they will be fighting a disunited Ummah. So
Salahuddin (rahimahullah) was fighting with part of the Ummah and not the
whole of the Ummah as the Ummah was shattered at that time. He was
fighting against a united Europe with a modest sized army. The Muslim
leaders were telling him that he was crazy, but Salahuddin (rahimahullah) had
tawakkul 26 on Allah 'Azza wa Jail and he went ahead with fighting the
Crusaders and he started taking away land from them. So now the Pope
started mobilising Europe for a new Crusade, which was the fourth Crusade,
and this was going to be the largest because it's against Salahuddin
(rahimahullah). This shows the importance Europe gave this Crusade by
knowing who is going to lead it. If they are going to send a small general to
lead it, it means they are not going to take it seriously but it was led by the
King of England, the King of France and the King of Germany; they
themselves were going to go out and fight in Filistine. They were not going to
appoint their generals to go rather they were going to lead the armies'
themselves. Since these three armies were going to go out, the size of the
army was huge compared to the standard of that time. Some sources say that
the army of Frederick Barbarossa (King of Germany) alone was 300,000. In
those days, that was a number that if people heard they would faint out of
fear. The army was so huge that the European Navy and merchant ships were
not sufficient to carry it. So the army of France and England went by sea but
the army of Germany had to go by land. Now let's see what our Scholars had
to say about this.

Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah) says, 'They came to us on land and on sea. The news
spread among the Muslims that the German King was coming with an army
300,000 strong and that he is approaching from the North. So the Muslim
Sultan and the Muslims were concerned and fear was getting to them. Many
of the Scholars prepared themselves to go out and fight in al-Shaam for love of
Jihad but then many of them went back when they heard the numbers of the
French.'

Muslim Leaders.

Al-Shaam consists of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine

The Romans.

Reliance.

17

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

Why did they go back? Does the fiqh change when the numbers are more?
They went to fight Jihad fe Sabeelillah but returned back because of the
numbers and these were 'Ulema. This is an important lesson here and it's
important to know that 'Ulema are not infallible; they are not Ambiya. So if
people are going to blindly follow ' Ulema, there is no guarantee that they are
going to take them to the right path. This is not generalization of all scholars
as Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah) says some of them went back. There will always
be in this Ummah an at-Taa'ifah, but what is happening is that people will try
to find a way out of responsibility and they will hang it on the ' Ulema saying,
'This 'Alim did not give this /atoa', 'This ' Alim did not tell us to fight Jihad fe
Sabeelillah'. So they would blame it on the 'Ulema when there are 'Ulema who
are telling you otherwise; they are telling you to do the right thing and there
are 'Ulema carrying the right Manhaj 27 . They might be in jail, they might be
killed, they might be underground or they might not be famous because no
television station will broadcast their Khutbah but they are 'Ulema. Another
issue is that we are living in an interesting time were the 'Ilm 28 of a person is
in accordance to how famous he is and that is not a right standard for 'Ilm. At
the time of the early ' Ulema, an 'Alim would be considered an 'Alim by the
testimony of the ' Ulema. His teacher would give him Tazkiyya 29 and say he is
an 'Alim. They would have a seat for the fatwa which would be given to the
'Alim which most of the ' Ulema think is most knowledgeable but now it is the
government that appoints the 'Alim and he becomes an 'Alim suddenly, not
because the 'Ulema said he's an 'Alim but because he was given this position
by the government. And he becomes a famous 'Alim by appearing on many
satellite channels, radio stations and programmes; this is not the correct
standard for 'Ilm. We need to follow al-Haqq wherever it is.

So Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah) says these 'Ulema ran away when they heard of
the numbers; and because he is an 'Alim he is going to find an excuse for it as
well as daleel - he will know how to twist ayaat or ahadith and make it sound
that this is the Shari'ah thing to do. He will not admit that he's afraid by
saying, 'Sorry I'm a coward, so I can't go ahead with this,' rather he will say
that to go ahead with fighting is not hikmah and that there is no hikmah in it, or
that Salahuddin is insane and we told him not to go ahead with the fighting
yet he still did, or that Salahuddin does not have 'Ilm or he does not speak
Arabic right or know it so who is he to give a fatwa and take this Ummah to
this trouble and bring upon them this disaster by taking on this huge army.
'He needs to go to the 'Ulema and take the fatwa from us but he did not so let
him go and die.' So they ran away; what happened? It is a test from Allah

Methodology.
Knowledge.
Spiritual Training.

18

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

'Azza wa Jail - a test for the ' Ulema, for Salahuddin (rahimahullah) and for the
Ummah.

The huge army was approaching; some stayed steadfast and some ran away.
It was just like Musa ('alayhis salaam) with Bani Israel when they reached a
dead end when the sea was in front of them; it was a test for the Ummah.
Allah 'Azza wa Jail did not want to destroy the Mu'mineen; Allah 'Azza wa Jail
wanted to test them. Musa (' 'alayhis salaam) and his Ummah reached to a dead
end; the sea was in front of them and the army of Fir' awn was behind them.
So Bani Israel went up to Musa (' 'alayhis salaam) and told him, 'You lied to us.
You told us that Allah is going to save us. You told us that Allah is going to
protect us. And here we are facing death. The sea is ahead of us, Fir' awn is
behind us; there's no way out.' Musa (' 'alayhis salaam) replied - and Allah
'Azza wa Jail recorded this beautiful and historical statement of Musa's
(' 'alayhis salaam) in His Noble Book,

"By no means! Allah is with me and will guide me." (ash-Shu' ara: 62)

It is as if Musa ('alayhis salaam) was saying, T disbelieve my eyes when I see
the sea in front of me and Fir' awn behind me. I disbelieve my ears when I
hear these words from Bani Israel that I lied to them. I only believe in my Iman;
Allah promised me and He will fulfil His promise.' So at this point, the test
was over and Allah 'Azza wa Jail told him to strike the sea with his stick. The
test showed who was steadfast and who was not steadfast.

The same was for the time of Salahuddin (rahimahullah); it was a test. Three-
hundred thousand men are marching with Frederick Barbarossa; what
happened? They reached a river, and there are different narrations as to what
exactly happened, and one of them was that: the water in the river was
extremely cold; it may be due to the snow melting from snow peaks. The
climate was very hot and the water was very cold. Frederick Barbarossa was a
very old man in his seventies and he was leading this army. He was covered
in armour from head to toe; they wouldn't fight like the Muslims in light
armour like the statement of Allah 'Azza wa Jail,

They do no fight you in person except in fortified villages or from behind
fortresses. (al-Hashr. 14)

This fortress could be a castle or armour but the moment you take him out of
that cockpit, armour or trench, khalas, he is gone; and that's why Ibn al-
Qayyim (rahimahullah) says, 'The bodies of the Sahabah were not larger than

19

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

their enemies, their training was not more, their armour was not better, their
weapons were not more but the hearts of the enemy would fail them when
they need their hearts most.'

So the Sahabah had hearts while the enemy did not have that heart. Their
hearts would fail them though he has all the armour, weapons, training, the
army - he has all the means to victory but he doesn't have the heart.

So Frederick is crossing the stream on his horse, and somehow something
spooked his horse so Frederick Barbarossa falls into the cold water, has a
heart attack and dies. On this Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah) says in jest, The king
of the Germans dies in water that doesn't even reach your knees!' Frederick
Barbarossa is a name that would strike fear; he was the most powerful of the
European Kings but he dies in pool of water. Then Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah)
says, 'After the king dies, disease spreads among them and they are
disunited. By the time they reach to al-Shaam, it is as if they came out of the
grave. By the time they reached to ' Akkaa, the 300,000 army was brought
down to 1,000.'

When you look at them it is like they have just come out from their graves.
Only 1,000 from 300,000 reached to meet Salahuddin (rahimahullah). So who
was wise? These ' Ulema who ran away or Salahuddin (rahimahullah)?

There was a letter sent by Barbarossa to Salahuddin (rahimahullah), which was
so arrogant, and proud. It threatens Salahuddin (rahimahullah) to move out his
army within twelve months or such and such will happen. So Allah 'Azza wa
fall wanted to dishonour Barbarossa. Barbarossa made an oath that he will
step his foot on the Holy Land, so when he died before reaching the Holy
Land, his son wanted to take his dead body in order to fulfil the oath of his
father; so they boiled his body in water, then they stuffed his body in a barrel
with vinegar in order to preserve the body to fulfil the oath. Nevertheless, the
body rotted and blew up out of this barrel, so they had to dump the body
along the way. So Allah 'Azza wa Jail did not even allow him to fulfil his oath
by reaching the Holy Land! When you want to fight the religion of Allah
'Azza wa Jail, this is what happens to you.

Ibn 'Atheer (rahimahullah) says, 'If it wasn't for the care of Allah for this
Ummah by killing the German King, we would be saying today that Egypt
and Syria were once Muslim.' He is saying that we would have lost al-Shaam
along with Egypt and we would be saying that one day there used to be
Muslims there. That is how serious this threat was. But Allah 'Azza wa Jail
wanted to give victory to His servants; so if they sent 300,000 or 3 billion it
would not have made a difference because Allah 'Azza wa Jail wanted to grant
the Ummah victory. Therefore, if Allah 'Azza wa Jail wants an end, if He wants

20

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

to give this Ummah victory, He will create for it the circumstances that allows
for this victory to occur.

IV. History repeats itself

Now that we have established that this rule is correct, let's now look at our
time today.

First Point: We are living in a time similar to the time of Salahuddin
(rahimahullah). So does that mean that what comes next will be like that of
Salahuddin (rahimahullah)! Let's look at the situation before Salahuddin
(rahimahullah) became victorious. There was disunity in the Ummah. Ibn
Atheer (rahimahullah) says, 'The Khilafah at that time was very weak and every
Muslim state was becoming independent and the Khalifah was only ruling
over Baghdad so there was disunity in the Ummah.' The Khalifah was only
ruling over Baghdad; that was all he was ruling over. Basra was with Ibn
Raa'iq, Khuzistaan was with Abi ' Abdillah, Persia was with Tmaad ad-Doula,
Karmaan was with Abi 'Ali bin Muhammad, al-Mosul, al-Jazeera, al-
Deyaabakkar was with Rabi'a bin Habban, Egypt and al-Shaam was with
Muhammad bin Bajk, Africa and al-Maghrib was with al-Qaa'im ibn Mahdi,
Khurasaan was with as-Sammanee; so you can see the disunity of the Ummah:
it is similar to the time we are living today.

The first point is that history repeats itself and that there were times the
Ummah was going through circumstances like what we are going through and
that was followed by victory for the Ummah. So we should not lose hope that
our situation is so bad that there is no way out for us. That is not true. When
you reach rock bottom you can't go any lower, there is no way to go except to
go up again, khalas. So we are at the lower end of the curve.

Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah) says that al-Andalus was divided into four states,
and each state was headed by a man calling himself the Ameer al-Mu'mineen.
He said it had become a joke. So this is a state of disunity that may have been
worse than the disunity that we have today. There was great attachment to
power, which is similar to the situation of the governments today. For
example, Ar-Ridwaan killed his two brothers to rule and he sought assistance
from al-Baatiniyyah. Another example was that a town called ar-Raha was
split between two Ameer's one of whom sought assistance from the Roman
King to help him out. In Qurtaba, in the time of fitnah, a man by the name of
Umayyah bin ' Abdur-Rahmaan bin Hishaam took over the palace and went
to the main window and screamed out that he is the Ameer. Someone told him
that the days of Bani Umayyah are over. He replied, 'Give me bai'yah today
and kill me tomorrow if you want. Let me be Ameer for at least one day! One
day would be enough for me.' There was also disparity between very rich and

21

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

very poor people - we also have that in the Ummah today. Another example
was that the daughter of as-Sultan Minikshah, the mahr 30 that was given to her
was 130 camels loaded with gold and silver; this was for the wedding for the
daughter of as-Sultan. So people had this extreme wealth, and at the same
time, there were people who were in extreme poverty that they would eat
dogs. Another example was that in year 448 Hijri, a man sold his house for
twenty pounds of flour; he really wanted his twenty pounds of flour. There
was also passiveness among the people; this is not something new to the
Ummah, and there are phases when people would be very passive. In year
361, and this is mentioned by Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah) in al-Kaamil, the
Roman army attacked ar-Raha. So a delegation went from ar-Raha to
Baghdad and they went to the Muslim King Bukhtiyar Ubwaihee. They found
him busy hunting. He should be taking care of the affairs of the Ummah and
launching Jihad fe Sabeelillah and he is busy hunting! This is nothing new; I
remember in the US when one of the Kings from the 'Arab Countries went to
visit Washington DC. He had set up an appointment to meet with the local
Muslim Community on a Tuesday. On the day before the appointment with
the Muslim Community, the embassy called and said that the King will be
very busy attending a meeting on Tuesday and wouldn't be able to come. So
people thought he had a meeting with some big-shot in the US, perhaps a
congressman or beg for money. The news came out later that this King, along
with his wife, on Tuesday went to watch four movies in the cinemas. He was
too busy going from one cinema to another to watch movies. And this tells
you the type of people who are running our affairs. These are people that you
can't trust to even run a store or business and they are running Countries.
And some say we have to give bai'yah to them and never go against them or
speak against them.

Anyhow, they went and found the King busy hunting and they told him what
he is doing is wrong and fighting the Muslims is wrong when he should be
fighting the Romans. The King said ' AllahuAkbarl Let's do Jihad fe Sabeelillah,
so gather money for me.' So they collected money and gave it to him but he
used it on his own personal affairs and forgot about the Jihad fe Sabeelillah.

Ibn Atheer (rahimahullah) also says that when the Crusaders reached to al-
Shaam, Al-Qaadhi Abu ' Ali ibn 'Ammar from Tripoli in Lebanon went to
Baghdad to mobilise the people to come to their assistance because Baghdad
was considered, even symbolically, as a centre of the Khilafah; so that's where
they go if they seek assistance. The Qaadhi gave a Khutbah in the central
mosque of Baghdad calling the people to Jihad fe Sabeelillah. The people were
very enthusiastic about it and they prepared themselves to join the Muslim
armies and the Sultan promised he would send armies but nothing happened

Dowry.

22

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

and nobody went out. So the Qaadhi goes back to Tripoli to find that al-
'Ubaydiyeen, who are Shi'ites, had taken over Tripoli; so he even lost his own
town.

So we should not lose hope if we see the same things happening today as it
happened before and Allah 'Azza wa Jail will change it.

Second Point: Allah 'Azza wa Jail is preparing the Ummah for the upcoming
stage.

Ibn Katheer (rahimahullah) has an Encyclopedia called, " Al-Bidaayah wan-
Nihaayah" 31 . He talks about history from the beginning - from the creation of
the earth to the end up to Yaum Al-Qiyamah. The chapter that discusses the
ahadith on al-Fitan - the ahadith which talks about the end of time - was taken
out and was printed as a separate book called 'Al-Fitan'.

Although the revival will be revival of the Ummah but the ahadith talk about
certain areas that Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) emphasized more
than others; these areas are al-Traq - Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam)
said they will be close to Imam al-Mahdi 32 , Khurasaan - Rasoolullah (sallallahu
'alayhe wassallam) said the black banners will come out from Khurasaan 33 , and
al-Shaam; and most of the Ahadith talk about al-Shaam. Al-Shaam is Palestine,
Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Jordan.

What was the situation of these areas twenty years ago? Al-Traq was a Ba'ath
government that was officially secular, officially against religion and the 'Iraqi
people were the furthest away from the religion amongst the 'Arab people.
They took secularism and Ba'ath seriously; they were purely nationalists. I
used to say, " SubhanAllah, Wallahu 'Alam when 'Iraq will change; it'll be a long
time from now."

Before the Jihad in Khurasaan, it was Communist; what good can come out of
Communism? The news of the Jihad started spreading around the early

"The beginning and the end."

It wasn't clear what Imam Anwar said here; so we relied on the knowledge we have regarding 'Iraq
and Imam al-Mahdi.

The full hadith is as follows: On the authority of Thawban, the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam):
"Before your treasure, three will kill each other — all of them are sons of a different caliph but none will
be the recipient. Then the Black Banners will appear from the East and they will kill you in a way that
has never before been done by a nation. " Thawban, a companion said: 'Then he said something that I do
not remember by heart' then continued to say that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: "If
you see him give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice, because surely he is the Caliph
of Allah, the Mahdi. If you see the black (meaning war) flags coming from Khurasaan, join that army,
even if you have to crawl over ice, for this is the army of the Caliph, the Mahdi and no one can stop
that army until it reaches Jerusalem." (Ibn Majah, Al Busiri, Al Hakim, Ahmad Nuaym, Ad-Daylami,
Hasan, Ibn Sufyaan, & Abu Nuaym.)

23

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

eighties.

The centre of al-Shaam is Filistine and the Palestinians at that time would
curse Allah 'Azza wa Jail and Islam. The reputation that they had was that of
corruption, drinking; it was in a state oifasaad. Syria was also Ba'ath. Lebanon
was called 'the Paris of the Middle East'; it was a partying zone. When 'Arabs
wanted to party they would go to Beirut. The part of Yemen that the ahadith
talks about is the South, 'Aden-Abyan, and it was the only Communist 'Arab
state in the world. So I would think that victory would be far, far away from
now; and we should forget about it coming in my lifetime.

SubhanAllah within twenty years look at where we are standing now!

The first Jihad starts in Filistine; in fact Filistine gave to Shahaada 3i its
importance in the modern day. The concept of Shahaada started out in
Filistine. In Filistine today, Shahaada is a culture, and people celebrate
Shahaada like a wedding; when a Shaheed would give his life to Allah 'Azza wa
Jail, his family would make a tent and people would come to greet them and
give congratulations to the family as if their child got married. So the people
who were the furthest away from the Deen and would curse Allah 'Azza wa
Jail and the Deen are the ones who sparked this issue of Shahaada today. They
are the ones who started Al 'Amaliyaah Istashaadiyah 35 - they are not the ones
who invented it but they are the ones who made it popular.

Afghanistan, the Communist Country, turns into the place of Jihad fe
Sabeelillah and we can probably credit every Jihad today and trace it back to
Afghanistan. Any front of Jihad today, you will find that it has roots back to
Afghanistan in one way or another. So a Communist Country - a place where
you probably have the highest illiteracy in the Muslim world and where
people know very little about Islam; so they are not big-shot ' Ulema - they are
the ones who start the Jihad of the 21 st Century; of this century. The Tajdeed 36 of
the Jihad was from there; the 'Ilm of Shaykh Abdullah Yusuf ' Azzam
(rahimahullah) spread from Afghanistan throughout the world.

Look at al-Traq- who would imagine that 'Iraq would be a land of Jihad?]
Who would have even imagined that a few years ago?! Who would have

Martyrdom.

Martyrdom operations; we must refrain from calling it what the West labels it, "Suicide bombings,"
since Suicide is haraam in Islam; and Shahaada is not suicide. It all depends on the individual's intention;
if his intention is to make the word of Allah High and Supreme by killing or destroying the Kafireen,
then this is Shahaada fe Sabeelillah and not suicide. However, if his intention was because he hates his life
and wants to get rid of it, then this is suicide. Shaykh Yusuf al 'Uyayree (rahimahullah) wrote a book on
this entitled, "The Islamic Ruling on the Permissibility of Self-Sacrificial Operations: Suicide, or
Martyrdom?" This book has been translated into English by at-Tibyaan Publications.

Revival.

24

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

thought that the land of Saddam would turn in to a land of Jihad? Even the
Americans miscalculated; they thought that they would march into Baghdad
and be greeted with roses and SubhanAllah it turns out to be the new Jihad
front for the Muslim Ummah today and the most important one. The land of
'Iraq is being prepared by Allah 'Azza wa Jail. The Traqi people - without that
twelve year sanctions and without the first Gulf war - would not have become
the new Mujahideen front today. It is the Bu'ath for them; Allah 'Azza wa Jail
has sent more than one Bu'ath to the people of Traq because with the existence
of Saddam this would not have happened but Allah 'Azza wa Jail took away
their leadership. The Americans are the ones who came to take away the
leadership; they didn't know the hornets nest was there; they didn't know
what they were getting their hands into. They took away Saddam and Abu
Mus'ab az-Zarqawi (rahimahullah) replaced him. 37 They got themselves in big
trouble, Wallahu 'Alam, this is the pool that America will drown in.

South Yemen, the Communist 'Arab Country, turns into a place where there
is an Islamic revival and this Islamic revival is centred in ' Aden-Abyan - the
particular place that Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) mentioned in the

ahadith.

So within a short period of time of twenty years, all of this is happening.
Does this not tell us that victory is soon? Does it not show us that these areas
that Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) emphasised and talked about in
the ahadith are being prepared by Allah 'Azza wa Jail for the next stage?
Al-Traq, Khurasaan, Yemen and al-Shaam are being prepared for what is
coming next. And what is coming next is al-Malhama 3S because Rasoolullah
(sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) talks about these places in reference to al-Mahdi
and al-Malhama.

Al-Malhama is this epic battle that will occur between the Muslim nation and
ar-Room and that will be followed by the global Khilafah. We are not living in a
local Khilafah, we are living in a global village, therefore you either win it all
or lose it all; it's not like you can win over localised small area and they will
leave you alone - no, the long arm of American injustice will get you where
ever you are. So you either win it all or lose it all. It is not like before, a time

This lecture was delivered before Abu Mus'ab az-Zarqawi died shaheed in Traq. But to strengthen the
point of Imam Anwar, look at the turn of events in 'Iraq ever since this lecture of his. Things have gotten
even better in this holy land of Jihad as the majority of the Sunni Mujahideen groups have formed an
official alliance called, ' Al-Mutayibeen' and they all gave their bai'yah to Abu Hafs (hafidhullah). In
addition to this, they have established Shari'ah in the areas they have control over. In addition to this,
their attacks are much more organized and powerful and effective than before when they were broken
up into many Jihadi groups. Allah is indeed laying down the ground work for the victory of Islam.

The last major war that was prophesized by the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) which will take
place between the army of Dajjal and the army of 'Esa ('alayhis salaam); and the Muslims will win this
battle and take over the entire globe from that point onwards.

25

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

before this massive air power invented by humanity today. Before, you could
take over a mountain and build a large castle and live in it for many years
without anyone touching you; but now they can send the B52 and it will wipe
you out along with your castle.

So the upcoming battle will be either lose it all or win it all and that is part of
al-Malhama. It will be the final battle between Kufr and Iman; it will be a battle
that will give victory to this Muslim Ummah. It's not the end of it all as you
still have Dajjal, Ya'juj and Ma'juj; but that battle will be the battle that will
establish the Islamic Khilafah on a global scale.

So this is an indication that we are getting close to those times. Now, if we are
getting close to those times, you really don't want to be sitting on the sidelines
and lose out on all of this ajr in this Golden Era; because it is a Golden Era.
Upon reading these ahadith, people would wish they were there 39 ; and here
we are living in those times sitting on the sidelines just as Shaykh 'Abdullah
Yusuf 'Azzam (rahimahullah) said, "The Jihad was a market that opened,
people made a lot of money, and then the market closed." It's not going to last
forever; if you sit behind, if you hesitate, if you are reluctant, then you will
miss out because the chance only comes once.

Although this is a Golden Era of Jihad, this ajr won't be handed out for free; it
would demand a lot. Because it is the greatest status it would demand the
greatest sacrifice. That is why only the best of the best - the ones whom Allah
' Azza wa Jail has chosen - will be able to carry it out until the end because the
fitnah 40 will be serious.

V. Realizing the severity of this fi tan

To give you an indication of how serious the fitnah will be:

First Indication: About this army that is going to meet the Romans in al-
Malhama, Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said that one-third of this
army will retreat. Keep in mind that these are the best as only the Mu'min 41
will go out to this battle, nevertheless a third of them are going to retreat.
Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) says about them that Allah 'Azza wa
Jail will not accept their Taubah 42 until they die. They are Mu'minoon who went
outfe Sabeelillah; they were Mujahideen who made it to the frontline but

An example of this is the following Hadith: Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu
'alayhe wassallam) promised us the conquest of al-Hind. If I was to come across that I will spend my soul
and wealth. If I am killed then I am among the best of martyrs. And if I return then I am Abu Hurairah
the freed." (Reported by Ahmad, an-Nisa'i, & al-Hakim)

Trials and Tribulations.

Believer.

Repentance.

26

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

because they retreated, their Taubah will not be accepted from Allah 'Azza wa
Jail. That is how serious the fitnah will be.

To survive in those dangerous times, one needs to have a lot of Iman. Its like
crossing the Empty Quarter 43 ; it doesn't make a difference if you have half a
tank full or a quarter, if you don't have enough and your car breaks down
and you did not reach to your final destination you are dead. It doesn't make
a difference if you have thirty percent, fifty percent or eighty percent; you
have to have one hundred percent, otherwise you die - half empty tank is the
same as an empty tank; you have to have a full tank of Iman ready for that
time because it is a special time and special status. The ajr is so great and this
ajr is not going to be given except to the ones who are strong and we ask
Allah 'Azza wa Jail to make us amongst those if we live in those days. Ameen

Second Indication: Another indication that we are getting close to those times
is that the Fundamentalists in the West are on the rise and religion getting in
to state affairs is also on the rise. The Newsweek wrote an article about Bush
and God, and they were quoting some European scholars that were saying
that the American foreign policies have many different variables and
objectives in driving it and one of them is religion. But they were saying that
for the first time in American history we feel that the religious objective may
be the main reason behind some of the American foreign policies. Bush once
told Mahmoud Abbas that 'God told me to go into Afghanistan.' So it was
God and not the Congress or the American people or the Constitution; so he
went there as it was an 'order from God'.

Denmark - which is probably one of the most secular of the European
countries - was a place where the attack of Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe
wassallam) started. No one thought that Denmark 44 , such a small country,
would be the cause for such a great issue that hasn't ended yet and an issue
that would cause the unification of the West against the Muslim Ummah on
this issue. The West supported Denmark on an official level and also the
population of the Western Countries - and this is very apparent - is standing
behind what happened in Denmark because the Swedish foreign minister had
to resign from her post after she closed down a website that was showing
these images. She had to resign and lost her job due to popular pressure.

So the West is edging towards fundamentalism when it comes to dealing with
Muslims; its not like they are suddenly becoming religious people - they are
not religious people, they are the furthest away from the teachings of the

In Arabic it is called Rub' al Khali. It is a gigantic desert North of Yemen and virtually has no
inhabitants.

He is referring to the incident where the cartoonists from Denmark drew images of our beloved
Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) in an insulting manner.

27

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

present day Bible - but they are becoming very religious when it comes to
dealing with the Muslims.

Third Indication: You will find statements made by religious leaders for
example, in the US, Franklin Graham who is the son of Billy Graham - one of
the most well known evangelists in the US - making statements like 'Islam is
the religion of evil'. You have Pat Robertson saying that the Muslims are
Ya'juj and Ma'juj.

Statements like this are on the rise; they are not decreasing, they are rising. So
this is an indication that we are getting closer to al-Malhama because the
psychological preparation for al-Malhama is in place. Any battle starts first in
the hearts before it gets to the battlefield. There needs to be motivation in the
hearts first and this motivation is starting to formulate in the West.

Fourth Indication: Before Allah ' Azza wa fall establishes the Ummah, the
Ummah has to pass through stations before they get to the final destination;
it's like a train ride where you have to pass through station one, station two,
and station three. There are some stations this Ummah has to pass through
and one of these stations is al-Ibtila 45 .

Allah 'Azza wa fall says,

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Do you think you will enter into Paradise before Allah knows the ones who
will fight Jihad among you and the ones who will not take other than Allah,
Rasoolullah and the believers as Auliya? (at-Taubah: 16)

So these are two stations you have to pass through before you enter into
Jannah and before you are established on earth: Jihad fe Sabeelillah and al-Walaa
zval Baraa 46 . So before these two issues become clear there cannot be
establishment on earth. The Ummah has to fight Jihad fe Sabeelillah and the
Ummah has to make it clear that their Walaa 47 belongs to Allah, His Messenger,
and the Believers and that they are disavowing; they are distancing
themselves from shaytan and al-Kuffar.

Trials and tribulations.

Al-Walaa means loyalty and love for the sake of Allah. Al-Baraa means disloyalty and hatred for the
sake of Allah. The majority of Muslims are extremely ignorant regarding this as we hear many of them
say that we must be tolerant of everyone and loving of everyone; this is absolutely kufr to say this since
our allegiance is to Allah and we are ordered to hate what He hates. Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-
Maqdisi (fakkAllahu Asra) wrote an excellent book on this entitled, "Millat lbraheem" and it has been
translated into English. We suggest our readers to go through this vital book.

Our allegiance is to Allah, His Messenger, and the Mu'mineen.

28

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

So some scholars, Islamic movements and Muslims are trying to run away
from these two stations but there is no way you can run away from these two
stations if you want to get Tamkeen 48 ; and the test is now happening to this
Ummah. Allah 'Azza wa Jail is testing this Ummah and we are being placed in
situations where we have to make the choice between Iman and Kufr. And this
is part of the test and the test starts from high up then it goes to the lower
levels. So it starts with the kings, presidents and scholars and then it goes
down to the people before them. For the kings the test has been finished, they
have already chosen al-Kuffar; Wallahu 'Alam, I believe that all of the results
have been handed out. Now the ' Ulema are going through the tests, and they
are being tested - you are either with us or against us - Bush is putting them
to the test and he is appointing their kings and presidents, who are nothing
but police officers for Bush, to do the job for him.

You are either with us or against us; you have to make a choice - you can't be
standing on both sides of the fence; now you have to make a choice. Ten years
ago you could give a khutbah on Jihad fe Sabeelillah and then go have dinner
with the king. But now you can't play both roles; you have to make it clear
who you are with. So that grey area is disappearing. That's why Rasoolullah
(sallallahu 'alayhe wassallam) said this test will carry on until the two camps are
completely separate; a camp with Iman and no Nifaaq and a camp with kufr
and no Iman.

Now things are mixed up; there can be no establishment for the Ummah until
that mixing up is cleared up. Sayyid Qutb (rahimahullah) mentioned in his
Dhilaal of Qur'an that 'Allah 'Azza wa Jail does not give the establishment on
earth until it becomes clear who is with Him and who is against Him.'

It doesn't happen when the Ummah is mixed up. So now the Ummah needs to
be separated in to Mu'min and Munaafiq. 49 And Allah 'Azza wa Jail has
destined that Bush will be part of this test; he is the one putting people to the
test. Bush is putting the Ummah through the test on one side and the
Mujahideen are putting the Ummah to the test on the other side. So you have
Mujahideen on one side and Bush on the other and they are attracting people
towards their camps and that is what the Americans call 'the battle of the
mind and heart'. It is really the battle between al-Haqq and al-Baatil. Allah
'Azza wa Jail says,

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Empowerment.

SubhanAllah, many ignorant Muslims speak of having tolerance with the Murtadeen and clear-cut
Munafiqeen. Some even say to have tolerance with the Kafireen that are fighting Islam & the Muslims.
How far does tolerance go? It is as if al-Baraa doesn't even exist in our ' Aqeeda anymore!

29

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

The one who takes Allah, Rasoolullah and the Believers as Auliya, then the
party of Allah will be victorious. (al-Ma'idah: 56)

So this party of Allah 'Azza wa Jail cannot be victorious until this issue of al-
Walaa is cleared - the Walaa to the believers.

To recap, if Allah 'Azza wa Jail wants an end He will create for it its means; we
mentioned three proofs to this rule: Bu'ath, what happened in Persia and then
the example from the time of Salahuddin (rahimahullah).

We also said that:

1. History repeats itself.

2. Allah is preparing particular areas.

3. Fundamentalism is on the rise in the West.

4. The Ummah must pass through stations towards establishment.

VI. The solution to the Ummah' 's problem

We all agree that we have a problem now. Everyone in the Ummah says the
Ummah is suffering from a problem but we differ on the solution. We should
have no difference of opinion when we have Qur'an and Sunnah with us. We
should have no difference when the answer is in Qur'an and Sunnah.

So what is the solution for our problem now? The solution is given in a hadith
where Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) says:

"When you enter into a transaction, follow the tails of cows, are pleased
with agriculture, and give up conducting Jihad fe Sabeelillah, Allah will
make disgrace prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return to
your original Deen (i.e., True Islam)." 50

This hadith tells us of the problem and the solution. The interesting thing is
that the problem mentioned in the hadith, some Muslims today say it is the
solution. So what is the problem? Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) says
when you are busy with business and agriculture and livestock and you leave
Jihad fe Sabeelillah, you will be humiliated.

Some Muslims say that the only way this Ummah can be victorious is if we
follow the way of the other nations in terms of industry, agriculture, trade,
then we'll become like them and we will become victorious. So if we are
successful in business, successful in agriculture, successful in technology and

(Narrated by 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (radiyallahu 'anhu). It is found in Sunan Abu Dawud: Book 23,
Number 3455 & Saheeh Al-Jaami' No. 688 & Ahmad Number 4825 & Aboo Umayyah at-Tarsoose in
"Musnad ibn 'Umar" (no. 22))

30

Allah is Preparing us for Victory

so on that is the way for the Ummah. Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam)
says that is the problem.

Some Muslims say the way forward for this Ummah is to distance itself from
terrorism and spend their time in becoming good in Business, good in
technology, agriculture, and the rest; and this is how we can compete with the
rest of the world. Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) said that this is
wrong and Allah ' Azza wa Jail will dishonour us if we do that. And Rasoolullah
(sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) says there is no way out from this until you go
back to your Deen. The commentators on this hadith say going back to the
Deen here means going back to Jihad fe Sabeelillah specifically because
Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) says leaving Jihad is leaving the Deen
so the only way to go back to the Deen is to go back to Jihad fe Sabeelillah; so
Jihad becomes equal to the religion. So this is the solution; the solution of the
Ummah is to go back to Jihad fe Sabeelillah.

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbal (rahimahullah) mentioned that one of the Salaf 1 was asked
'Why don't you get yourself a farm for you and your family?' He said 'Allah
'Azza zva Jail has sent me to kill the farmer and take his farm.'

When 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyallahu 'anhu) had heard that the Sahabah
were busy cultivating the very fertile land that they won through Ghaneema 52
from Jihad fe Sabeelillah in Jordan, he waited until the time of harvest and then
ordered that all of the farms be burned down to the ground. So some of the
Sahabah came complaining and he said 'This is the job of the people of the
book; your job is to fight Jihad fe Sabeelillah and spread the religion of Allah.' 53

Leave the farming to the people of the book, you go and spread the religion of
Allah 'Azza zva Jail; they will farm and they will feed you; they will pay Jizya, 5i
they will pay Kharaaj 55 because Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) said,

Pious Predecessors.

Spoils of War.

SubhanAllah, a similar incident is as follows: Narrated by Abu Ayyub: Abu Imran said: We went out
on an expedition from Madinah with the intention of (attacking) Constantinople. Abdur Rahman ibn
Khalid ibn al-Waleed was the leader of the company. The Romans were just keeping their backs to the
walls of the city. A man (suddenly) attacked the enemy. Thereupon the people said: Stop! Stop! There is
no god but Allah. He is putting himself into danger. Abu Ayyub said: This verse was revealed about us,
the group of the Ansaar (the Helpers). When Allah helped His Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) and
gave Islam dominance, we said (i.e. thought): Come on! Let us stay in our property and improve it.
Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, revealed, "And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and
make not your hands contribute to (your destruction)" (al-Baqarah: 195). To put oneself into danger
means that we stay in our property and commit ourselves to its improvement, and abandon fighting
(i.e. Jihad). Abu Imran said: Abu Ayyub continued to do Jihad fe Sabeelillah until he (died and) was buried
in Constantinople. (Sunan Abu Dawud: Book 14, Number 2506)

Tax money that the Kuffar pay under Khilafah.

Kharaaj is a tax on agricultural land.

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Allah is Preparing us for Victory

"My rizq (sustenance) comes beneath the shadow of my spear." 56 So if the rizq
of Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) was through Ghaneema it must be
the best rizq and better than farming, business, shepherding and better than
anything else because Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) said: "My rizq
(sustenance) comes beneath the shadow of my spear."

There was an interview with the spokesman of al-Jaysh al-Islamifil 'Iraq 57 .
When he was asked 'What is your financial source?' he replied 'Our financial
source is Ghaneema but we don't mind if Muslims are going to give us
donations.' They aren't going to be beggars; they are going to finance their

Jihad fe Sabeelillah through Ghaneema.

So the solution for the Ummah is Jihad fe Sabeelillah. When the Ummah revives
this 'Ibaadah 58 , it becomes ironical; Jihad fe Sabeelillah becomes an irony. People
run away from it because they see that is it a loss of money and it's also a loss
of self; you could loose life and you could loose your wealth in Jihad fe
Sabeelillah. The irony is that when the Ummah fights Jihad fe Sabeelillah, the
Ummah becomes the wealthiest and when the Ummah is fighting Jihad fe
Sabeelillah, the least of this Ummah die.

If we were to draw a graph of the death toll, you will find that very few
Muslims died when the Ummah was fighting Jihad fe Sabeelillah whereas when
the Ummah left Jihad fe Sabeelillah, the death toll is in millions. If we draw a
curve of the financial situation you will find that the Ummah becomes the
wealthiest in the times of Jihad fe Sabeelillah and they become the poorest when
they leave Jihad fe Sabeelillah.

The Islamic state is unique in history; it is the only state that did not tax its
population. Why did it not tax its population? It had income that came from
Jizyah, Kharaaj, Ghaneema, and Fay' 59 . All of these are income that comes from
Jihad; so the government does not have to tax the population anymore. But
now that the Muslim Ummah is not doing Jihad fe Sabeelillah, they end up
taxing the population and Rasoolullah (sallallahu 'alayhe zvassallam) said 'Taxes
is haraam and the one who deals in any job related to taxes is cursed.'

So the solution is right there it just needs people to wake up and read the
simple hadith and follow its meanings.

(Reported by Ahmad and At-Tabarani. Classified Saheeh. Saheeh Al-Jaami' As-Sagheer No. 2828)

The Islamic army in 'Iraq.

Act of worship (to Allah Alone).

Fay' is what is taken from the disbelievers without a fight. Such as the disbelievers fearing the
Muslims and running away from their positions and they leave behind booty, or if they surrender
without a fight, or they pay jizyah. The distribution of the fay' is up to the Imam.

32